Speaking of Obama, Powell said the president got the United States out of Iraq and has laid out a plan for leaving Afghanistan ‘‘and didn’t get us into any new wars.’’

He praises Obama’s economic performance, saying that while difficult choices are ahead on taxes, spending and budgetary policies, ‘‘steadily, I think we’ve begun to come out of the dive and we’re gaining altitude.’’ Powell, a retired general, also formerly was a White House chief of staff and chairman of the military’s Joint Chief of Staffs.